B.C. SPCA branch manager Chelsea Taylor (left) explains why the City of Vernon should update its animal welfare and pound control bylaw during a presentation to council Monday. (Roger Knox - Morning Star)

Vernon BC SPCA branch seeks changes to city bylaw

The branch manager of the B.C. SPCA branch in Vernon wants the city to update its animal regulation and pound bylaw.

Chelsea Taylor, in a presentation to Vernon council Monday, said the city’s current bylaw (No. 5252) is “not current with best practices in animal policy.”

“Most significantly, the bylaw is missing requirements for basic standards of care,” said Taylor. “The B.C. SPCA recommends the bylaw be updated to include these provisions.”

The B.C. SPCA, said Taylor, is supportive of municipal animal bylaws founded in scientific evidence which encourage responsible ownership and improve community safety. Bylaws requiring standards of care for animals allow municipalities to adopt a proactive approach to animal welfare. Animals raised under inhumane conditions are more likely to carry communicable diseases and exhibit aggressive behaviour, both of which are threats to community health and safety.

“ln 2018, the B.C. SPCA received 334 calls to our animal cruelty reporting hotline from the Vernon region on matters related to standards of care bylaw provisions,” said Taylor. “Included in these calls were 23 accounts of animals being left in hot vehicles and 46 calls concerning inadequate or unsanitary living/sheltering conditions.

“While the B.C. SPCA has the capacity to investigate these calls, without enforcement powers we cannot always obtain compliance. However, in B.C. municipalities with standards of care bylaw provisions in place, compliance is regularly achieved and situations of animal suffering are lessened.”

Taylor said there are 68 such communities in the province and the B.C. SPCA can partner with the municipality to issue tickets to offenders, “thereby discouraging misconduct while advancing animal welfare and community safety.”